Brake for hand trucks



May 20, 1924. 1,495 104 J. A. PATTERSON BRAKE FOR HAND TRUCKS Filed Dec.14 1922 Sheexs-Sheet 1 I: ..L If

ll $3 -v\\ I o f I "I? amvewfoi ewvmm QZZQ? A 2 6219022 May 20 1924.

J. A. PATTERSON BRAKE FOR HAND TRUCKS 1 Filed Dec. 14, 1922 J&72Pwilems'am V anew/Mega Patented May 20, 1924.

UNI ED.s tar-E s Joan A. PATT RSON,

BRAKE FOR Hi l ND 'r'auoxs;

I i s E.

Application filed December 14;v 19;22s. Serial No.- 6062 867.

for movingg baggage and} one object, off'thef invention is to provideabrakestructure which a brake element may be moved 3 1nto anoperativeposit on bymeans of; a sliding weight and to connect thisweightwith the} Q operatinghandle of the truckrby means of a cable so that theweightmay servelt .:v tain the handle in an elevated position Whenv the.truck is stationary andthe handle when swung downwardly servesi to drawt'he 52 weight upwardly to an inoperative pOSltlOIt and permit thebraketo move to, a iel' easing position.

'Another object, of the invention is -to so,- con structithe brakestructure that the brake maybe in the form of a'pivoted'levenhav' ing'.one end portion proyided-with a tooth for engaging. a ratchet forminggear or; pinion carried by one. of the rear whee lsof thetruck, theother end portion of the, lever} extending into position forengagemehtby the weight which will be islidably mounted, for" movement verticallyof the r rear bolster;

of the truck.

Another object of'the' invention is; to-ipror,

0 vide abrake structure in which; the actuat ing 'cable which leads fromthe. weight to, the handle or tongue ofthe truck maybe} guided in itsmovement and prevented: from interfering with proper turning of thefifth wheel and front axle of the truck.

Another object [of the invention is-to so.

construct this brake structure that it may be readily applied to handtrucks of a conalready in use. 7. I

I This invention is illustrated in the accompanylng, drawlngs, wherelnEigur'e, 1' is a longitudinal sectional view through; a: baggagtruclrshowing the; brake inj-anjaiope rativeposition andthe tongue orandlejswungupwardly out of the way 1 V FigHrQQ-isa; bottom plan view ofthe baggage, truck 4 witl11;; the:. improved brake mechanismappliedthereto. a i r Figure isza view similar to Fig. 1 show ing;;thjepulling; handleJ- drawn downwardly 01 P S f'GiOn forfgusei and thebrakemecha 1, 1 ;i i eated-w- Figure 4:?18 5311}; enlarged transversesectionalgview taken along; the line 4...L:1o

. Figure 5; is; a'nenlarged transverse sectional, view taken along the;line '5- 5 of;

fi g i fflke haSjbeeng shown; inguseain con-' ith-aihand truck; which isof a con-1 ventional construction. -and provided with a platform- 1?,arear bolster B zto' whichis securedgthe rear axfleA which carries theusual rearwheel ;W.;; The usual front truck which is indicated a ingeneral by; the letter, I T has been; provided, and therehfas also,been; pro-- 1 vided -the usual handleH; which is mounted, so for vertcal swinging movementby the usual. forks F It} will, of course, beunderstood that 'the truck illustrated is onlyillustrated; asishowingagconyentional vstructure of truck andLthajt thew-brake structure may beused; in connectipn-ywjth; any, truck upon whic'h=- it -ca n be,"contenientlyapplied and (which; incliids 'ai verticallyswinging-handle;v 3. 'This brake v is provided 1 with; a gripping; deyi'c' .inftheifornig of a latch bjar orfle-ver; ljwich is.fpivotally monnted by meansof aQ-baring block- Z carried by the rear; axle rt a' nd' projected:forward-1y with the latch bar ektnding}transversely of the truck. 7

itsfoutere nd, the bar islprovidedwith a tooth which extends rearward-1yand may b'e' broughtj into engagement with the teeth of a. gear orpinion 4-s ecured to the hub of one; of the rear wheels. 5A; spring. 5is pro vided tofengagethe outer-endportion of this 100 latcli'bar' and;normally retain'the latch bar in 'an' finoperative; position, with the;pawl; oritooth 3 out of engagement with the-pinion 4L.- Therefore,- whenthe truck is in use, the latch, .barvwill be retainedin -an inoperativeposi-tion and moyement of the truck will not be interfered with. Theinnerend portionof thisflatch bar terminates inter mediate-; he width ofthebolster'B'and thisinner end portion ofthe latch bar carries; 3

a roller 6 so that the latch bar may be easily swung to an operativeposition by means of a cam 7 which extends vertically ofthe .weight 8and moves into engagement withv the roller when the weight moves down- Iwardly between the track strips 8 carried by the bolster. downwardly so.that when the weight is drawn upwardly to an inoperative position bypulling upon the cable 9 and the weight then permitted to mov -vdownwardly towards the operative position the lower end of the weightmay readily pass betweentheaxle and the roller at the inner end of thelatch bar. This weight is to be connected with the handle H of the truckso that the weight can serve tonormally retain' the handle-in the raisedposition and the handle when swung downwardly to a pulling positionserves as means for drawing uponthe cable to move the weight upwardlyantipermits the latch to move to an inoperative poi sition. Therefore,the cab-1e has been car ried upwardly and after being passed over apulley 10 at; the upper end of the bolster, has been brought forwardlyunder the platform through guide 12 which is also preferably inthe formof a'pulley. Theyforward guide 12 is positioned somewhat to the rear ofthefifth wheel ofthe front truck and therefore when the cable is carriedforwardly and downwardly into engagement with the pulley 13 carried bythefront axle, and then upwardly into engagement with the pulley 14 atthe front of the fifth wheel,

the front truck may be readily. turnedv as far as necessary forguidingofthe vehicle without the cable interfering withproper turning of thefront truck. ,The forward end of the cable is connected with the rearend portion of the handle Hby means of a suitable clamp 15., The cableis of "such length that when the baggage truck is sta-' tionary' and thehandle H allowed to move upwardly, the weight will move downwardlyand'servenotonly as means for holding the handle ina raised positionwhere it will be out of the way, but'also servethrough engagement'of itscam with the roller. as

means-"for swinging the latchbarupon its pivot and bring the tooth orpawl 3 of "this latch bar into engagement with the pinion or ratchet 4.As long as the weight remains in the lowered position shown in Fig.l,the latch bar will be retained in the operative position against theaction .of the spring 5-and thebaggage, truck will beheld againstmovement and thus prevented from .accidentally coasting along a station'platformand causing damage. When it is desired to move the baggagetruck, the handle is grasped and 'will be naturally drawn downwardly toa position in which the truck can be readily pulled from one place toanother. When the handle is drawn downwardly, the

This weight is, tapered cable is drawn upon by the handle and the weightwill be drawn upwardly. The cam will move out of engagement with theroller 6 and the spring 5 will movegthe latch bar to theinoperative,position. The baggage truck can then be readily drawn fromone place to another and there will be no danger of the latch baraccidentally moving into an operative position and interfering withready handling of the truck. 'As soon as the truck is again brought toa'stop andjthe handle released and permitted to swing up- 1 permitted toagain move downwardly to retain' the handle in the raised position'whereitwill be out of the wayand also serve to move thelatch bar to theoperative position. I claim: 1 The combination with a vehicle includinga body, forward and rear trucks, supporting wheels'carried by thetrucksand a tongue pivotally connected with the forward truck forvertical swinging movement, of a brake structure comprising a ratchetcon nected with ,a wheel'of the rear truck, a latch lever pivotallyconnected with said rear truck in operative relation to'the ratchet, an

operating elementfor moving the latch lever into' operative engagementwith said ratchet,

means for slidably mounting, said operating element whereby saidoperating element may of its own weight normally remain in position toretain the latch lever in an operative position, and means forconnecting the ope crating element with the vertically swinging; tongueof the vehicle whereby the operating element when in an operativeposition may retain the handle in a' raised 'and inoperative positionand the handle when swung down wardly to a pulling position may dra'wthe operating element upwardly to a position:

permitting movement of the latch lever to an inoperative n position. 1

2. The structure'of claim l havingtli'e crating element in the form of adownwardly tapered weight, said means for slidably mounting theoperating element consisting of track elements for engaging the sideportions of the weight andslidably mounting theweight in position forengaging a handle portion of the latch lever and moving the latch levertoan operative position.

3. The structure of claim 1 having the op erating element in the form ofa downwardly tapered weight, said means for slidably mounting theoperating element consisting of track elements for engaging the sideportions of the weight and slidably mounting the weight in position forengaging the handle portion of the latch lever and moving the latchlever to an operative position, the

weight being provided with a vertically disposed wedge portionconstituting a cam for engaging the handle portion of the latch andimparting movement to the same.

4. The structure of claim 1, said means for connecting the operatingelement with the handle of the Vehicle consisting of a cable to have itsend portions connected with the handle and operating element.

5. The structure of claim 1, said means for connecting the operatingelement with the handle of the vehicle consisting of a cable to have itsend portions connected with the handle and operating element, and guidemeans for slidably mounting said cable for movement longitudinally of avehicle.

6. The combination with a vehicle com-' prising a body, a rear truckincluding wheels, a front guiding truck, and a handle pivotallyconnected with the front truck for vertical swinging movement, of aratchet element rigid with one of the wheels of said rear truck, a latchlever pivotally connected with the rear truck and having one end portionengageable with said ratchet and normally held out of engagementtherewith, a weight slidable vertically of said rear truck and whenmoving downwardly engaging the other end portion of said latch lever tomove the first mentioned end portion thereof into engagement with saidratchet, and means connecting said weight and handle whereby downwardmovement of the handle to a pulling position may cause upward movementof the weight to a position permitting movement of the latchlever-to aninoperative position.

7. The structure of claim- 6' having the Weight provided with adownwardly tapered wedge portion forming a cam to engage the latch leverand move the same to an inoperative position when the weight movesdownwardly. 1

8. The structure of claim 6 having the means for connecting the handleand weight consisting of a cable extending longitudinally of the vehiclebody and having its rear end connected with the weight andits forwardend connected with said handle.

9. The structure of claim, 6 having the means for connecting the handleand weight consisting of a cable extending longitudinally of the vehiclebody and having its rear end connected with the weight and its forwardend connected with said handle, guides for said cable carried by thebody of Said vehicle and front truck thereof, the for-- ward guidecarried by said body being spaced rearwardly of the front truck asuflicient distance to prevent'said cable fromin-V terfering withturning of the front truck.

10. In a vehicle having a ground engaging wheel and a draft element, abraking mechanism comprising a ratchet connected to said wheel, apivoted latch lever having on one end a latch disposed for operativeengagement with said ratchet, a slidablymounted operating elementadapted to be brought into engagement with the opposite end of saidlatch lever whereby the lever is actuated to engage the latch carriedthereby with said ratchet for braking the vehicle, means to actuate saidlever for disengaging said latch from said ratchet and means operated bythe movement of the draft device of the vehicle to actuate saidoperating ele-' the latch carried thereby with said ratchet for brakingthe vehicle and a flexible weight operating element connected with saidweight and with said draft element for raising and lowering the weightout of and into operative engagement with said latch lever when saiddraft element is swung downwardly and upwardly. 1

12. In a vehicle having a ground engaging wheel and draft, element, abraking mechanism comprising a ratchet connected to said wheel, apivoted latch lever having on one end a latch disposed for operative'engagement with said ratchet, a roller carried by the opposite end ofsaid lever, a slidably mounted operating. weight having a cam adapted bydownward movement of the weight to engage said roller whereby the leveris actuated to engage the latch carried thereby with said ratchet, aspring to actuate said lever for disengaging said latch from saidratchet when said weight is moved upwardlyand a flexible weightoperating element connected with said weight and said draft elementwhereby the weight is brought into and out of operative position by themovement of said draft means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

JOHN A. PATTERSON.

